Another Time of Chaos

Here I was all set to type up another blog... and a small kitten took a wee on my keyboard, well two actually. So after my painful attempts to clean the keys and the connections within it I had to admit defeat. I could no longer log into my computer and every piece of advice online whether that was a typed up piece or a helpful individual on YouTube was telling me it was easy! As long as I had already set the computer up so that I could bypass the keyboard to gain access. Well..... I hadn't.

These are the times when Amazon Prime does its thing and delivered me a nice new keyboard the day after, still however I was having issues getting to log in. The computer couldn't 'see' my new bluetooth keyboard... "No problem!" the online advice said...."just get out a keyboard with a cable....". I didn't have one, so as an emergency quick fix, amazon to the rescue again I purchased a £12.00 cheap keyboard for that very reason.

Finally I'm back in on the computer but this blog is a week or more late and I can't recall what I had to tell you last week. But so much has happened again, as always. first of all I've made myself a nice little wooden shelf so that I can slide the keyboard out of the way should said little kitten feel inclined to have another accident. I can at least rule out another ruined keyboard.

There is a HUGE project on the horizon, and I really won't say anything about it yet for the simple reason of external pressure. So much of what we put out there into the wider world and share is subject to this external pressure. Or perhaps the pressure is from deep within ourselves knowing that everyone knows what you are trying to achieve and having the thoughts of 'what if it all goes wrong?' Having to explain to people that you failed at something is not something anyone likes... I have every confidence that we will succeed however I think while we iron out the bumps, the envitable issues that pop up i'm going to stay tight lipped for now.... All I can say is watch this space. This project will push us further down into this lifestyle in a more committed way in some respects and I can't wait.

We hosted a Sheep Keeping & Crafting Workshop, which was the last one of the year. I loved it, and I hope the attendees loved it as well. I shared my passion for sheep and my passion for fleece. Whilst I'm somewhat new to sheep and crafting I've totally fallen in love with it all, I've dived in and summoned up all the skills and knowledge that I've learnt from doing it myself and from those around me. I'm looking forward to developing these workshops further.

Then we also had two goats come back home to us, having been bought from us 3.5yrs ago the owner now needed to revise her situation had asked if we could have them back. Well of course! This is our stand point with every goat sale. If you have any issues and can't keep them anymore then bring them back to us. We will do all our best to either regime them elsewhere or keep them safe here. So the two wethers came back, Steve unloaded them whilst I was out.... He was going to ask the lady 'what she had been feeding them' so we don't upset their stomaches by changing food too much.. but it came out with some inflections 'WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN FEEDING THEM!!?" They are MASSIVE!! I don't mean fat.... They are tall! Long legs and did I mention tall! Thats the two of them on the right, and two adult female goats on the left! Quite a difference....

We have their mum and dad still here and they have picked up the genes for height from both of them.

SO what's happening with the Soap Kitchen? Well, its been organised, cleaned and sorted during my steady pick up of soap making. I've had a few orders to chase up unfortunately Royal Mail strikes haven't helped but otherwise they do a cracking job. It seemed the perfect time to pause and take a break, because goodness me I've needed it!

The girl goats have a great new extension to their barn, I'm planning one for the boys. I guess overall we are about a month behind all these little projects and the Land Rover hasn't helped. Its sudden list of problems such as the shaft in the gear box breaking whilst out driving, (with a car full of rubbish). The wipers stopping working just before the gearbox, then on having spent a small fortune on the car, the indicators then refused to come on, and then the wipers in slow motion again failed to work.....

With all that being chucked at us, the windows on the house are very close to failing us now, maybe 12 months at best for some of the worst ones. I'm on the hunt for more. Having spent years trying to get wooden ones crafted and being ignored or people failing to come out to us I've relented., We may have to speak to the council about getting planning for UPVC as a temporary measure. As best we can we will search for ones that replicate exactly what we have here. Thankfully so many firms now are making windows that suit older houses and the standard window options have increased greatly. We shall see what prices come back, thankfully due to my work on a building site a few years ago I'm pretty happy at fitting windows so at least I can save money on that aspect.

Some of you may remember I spoke about Nelson last time. Well, he has turned the corner. His little parasite burden that sucked the life and his weight out of him has finally been overcome. We are slowing watching his condition return however this will take time and his skin settling down. My little lad Hudson is blooming wonderfully and we are now thinking about breeding for milking next year.

We've made some new friends locally, a random email from a guy wanting to get into keeping goats himself. Since then we have shared a few visits, shared goats milk and skills. This is the life of a smallholder, you make links and share your skills with each other. Just the other day I got a message about missing sheep from a fellow smallholder. Now these sheep, 4 little beautiful Shetland sheep will be coming to ours and I'm beyond excited! So when she messaged to say they'd gone missing I was more than happy to if not obliged to head over and help with the search. Thankfully as I landed in the area she called, they'd been found! A helpful farmer nearby had rescued them off the road and managed to get three into his barn and down the road the 4th was mingling with a flock of texels down the road. With a bit of help from the farmer the soon to be mine ladies were loaded in to the trailer and taken back to their home. A few pallets and twine and their little paddock was secure once again.

As for everything else? Well this time of year brings me more into a planning phase. I'm planning the winter months, thinking about hay, haylage, grazing and breeding. If you are focused on the spring time, lambs and kids then the darker days of winter are not what you dwell on which I find helpful. I'm able to spend time in the house making more rugs and pet beds, using the fleece we have in stock now. I also can spend time on the dry days preparing places like the gardens and vegetable garden ready for spring. Winter can be so much more productive when you have a smallholding. you don't linger on the short days and wet and windy winter months, mentally you're already months ahead.

Emma